Reach for the Skies: Ballooning, Birdmen and Blasting into Space

by Richard Branson

As far back as stories go, pioneers have reached for the skies. In the last two hundred years, they have mastered the air and made the modern world possible. Today they are bringing outer space within our reach. They're inventors and toymakers, amateurs and adventurers, visionaries, dreamers and, yes, crackpots. Some have called them irresponsible, even dangerous. But Richard Branson has met many of them. He has worked with them, funded them, and flown with them. He admires them, and trusts them, and thinks they and their kind are our future.

In this book Richard Branson looks at the history of flight through the stories and people who have inspired him throughout his life. In these pages you will find tales of miraculous rescues; of records made and broken; of surprising feats of endurance and survival, including some of his own adventures, as well as developments in the future of air travel (and space travel). It is a story of pioneers, and of course it includes the world famous Montgolfiers and the Wright brothers, but he also wants to describe some of the lesser-known trailblazers. People like Tony Jannus, who in 1914 created the first scheduled commercial flight in the world, flying his passengers over the waters of Tampa Bay at an altitude of just fifty feet! The 'bird man' Leo Valentin, who in the 1950s jumped from 9,000 feet with wooden wings attached to his shoulders. And Branson's friend Steve Fossett, who dedicated his life to breaking records and having adventures.

This is their story. It is also, in a small way, his own.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, History, Aviation, Biography, Technology, Autobiography

344 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 2010

About the author

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies. Branson's first successful business venture was at age 16, when he published a magazine called Student. He then set up a record mail-order business in 1970. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores and rebranded as zavvi in late 2007. With his flamboyant and competitive style, Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s - as he set up Virgin Atlantic Airways and expanded the Virgin Records music label. Richard Branson is the 236th richest person according to Forbes' 2008 list of billionaires as he has an estimated net worth of approximately $7.9 billion USD.

Reviews

[Churchill Osimbo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Branson does a good enough job at telling the history of aviation the way he sees it, but sadly this billionaire businessman isn't an especially talented writer. It isn't streamlined, darts through and back in time at Rich's whim. I only read it cause as a student pilot who isn't really keen on the history of aviation and the industry in general, I wanted to get excited about flying, which this book has done, to some degree; personally, I got what I needed out of it. But it's fun if you're into history and sentimental tangents.

[Rita Chapman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read part-way through the second chapter before deciding this wasn't for me. More historical information than I had expected.

[Sunshine Biskaps · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Reach for the Skies: Ballooning, Birdmen, and Blasting into Space"
by Richard Branson
Reviewed on 22 March 2021

This is another one of Richard Branson's books which I thought was only mediocre. For such a successful and brilliant person, I was not overly interested in his books. He seems to be a good story teller, but not a well-versed writer.

If you love to know about the history of aviation and anything airborne, this may be the book for you. I was hoping to get more out of this book, but that may just be my silly, naive wish.

I listened to the Bolinda audiobook while walking my dog.
3 stars.

[Jim Welke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really an excellent read, discussing the history of flight and the author's experience in hot air balloons and fixed wing aircraft. He sprinkles history with his own experiences, he gives a lot of insight to his "jumps and build your plane on the way down" style of management and investment philosophy. Branson also discusses his future plans for space travel. Although he skips around, probably due to his dyslexia and ADD, he has a lot of anecdotes making the book a fun read.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an aviation and space enthusiast, I found this book an interesting quick read about the history of aviation interwoven with Branson's personal stories. Reading in 2022 a story published in 2010, you find yourself having to finish the story of Virgin Galactic by reading the subsequent history and last year's historic launches into space in the summer of 2021.

Anyway, it's a good light read if you want to read some interesting stories of aviation pioneers throughout history.

[Loz Eardley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically a history of flight in Branson’s own words. Describes all the deaths and sacrifices that made flight possible makes you feel grateful for something that most take for granted now. He tells his personal stories of his aviation feats and makes some predictions for the future

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep personal experiences

Excruciating details of personal details and key moments in the hisof aviation. Whilst the book is an easy read it is somewhat too detailed in parts.

[Girish Shivakumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief history of aviation!

[Bonyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book; it summarised the history of flight pioneers very well, and was quite enjoyable. Hats off to the adventurers who were daring enough to get us where we are.

[Lyndon Teng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspiring, if a little scientifically dubious on occasion.

[zain · Rating 4 out of 5]

read jt in grade 7 and i liked it

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really excellent insight into aviation history and a whos/who in the industry.

[TC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its good to read outside our comfort zone genres. This book was one of them. Upon reading I found lots of great information, learnt many knew things, and surprisngly had a random conversational encounter where this knowledge came useful. I found Richard explained things well. For those who are into the different types of aircraft and how they operate he has some info on that as well 😉

[Wan Syafiq · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows the revolution of flight by mankind added with Richard's own experiences. It gets a bit historic on the first few chapters, written in the simplest context with interesting sketches and images throughout.

Nonetheless, a great read for aviation enthusiasts.

[Ajo Joseph Anto · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book narrates the history of aviation through the eyes of Sir Richard Branson. It's a seamless blend of facts(sometimes fatal) and life stories of the author that finally makes us appreciate the idea of flying to our destinations at will. Yes, it used to be an idea once! :D

[Daniel Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living at the start of the second decade of the twenty-first century, it's easy to take for granted the ability to fly and go back and forward into space.

In "Reach For the Skies", Sir Richard Branson tells the stories of pioneers in the aeronautical industry — a category he falls into through his ballooning adventures and the founding of Virgin Galactic. Starting with how people throughout history dreamed of flying, before they succeeded in balloons. Eventually the Wright brothers launched aviation in another direction, one that ultimately led into space. Branson finishes the book returning to where he started, with balloons, but this time with them used as a vehicle for space exploration.

More than anything else, Branson's passion for all things aeronautical is carried through this book. This is a history lesson by someone who is creating history in the area he's writing about. And of course the book is laced with his signature humor.

This book would appeal to two kinds of people: those who want a readable introduction to aeronautical history, and those with a passion for aviation who want to see history through the eyes of one of the history-makers.

[Mirza Sabtu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Branson writes both his experiences and personal observations. This book take readers to peek at the future of aviation on the time of writing.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Branson takes us through the history of flight with a personal touch. All of the experience he accumulated either through his world-breaking adventures or his business endeavours in aviation guide the reader through the earliest and most rudimentary forms of flight up to the space age and beyond. It is a thrilling collection of stories about visionaries, inventors, dreamers, legends, men and women who through their sacrifices (sometimes even through their ultimate sacrifice) have defined the world we now live in by helping connect its most distant points.

A must read even if you read his autobiography (which would definitely help you remember some of his adventures described in this book as well)!

[Kirsten Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very historically informative and interesting. Sir Richard Branson is a very clever, interesting and inspiring man who has achieved great things. He is so cool and made the history of flying sound cool too.Guess who wants to go on a trip into space now! Yes, that's right. Me. It is a pity I don't have the money to fly into space. A very inspiring read written by a very inspiring person.

[Luis Sempé · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully told story of flight, I really enjoyed learning more about the early days of flight and all the sacrifices made by people that loved it. It is exciting to see how far so many gifted and passionate humans have gotten in this field but even more to see where the pioneers of flight are taking us soon.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always been curious why Sir Richard Branson would involve himself in risky adventures given his relative financial stability. This book answered those questions. He does appear to be a true visionary and his assocation with Bert Ruttan, Steve Fossett, and Brian Binnie confirms this. Time will tell if ordinary folk are prepared to lay out incredible amounts to travel into space.

[Lakauz · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Branson's view of the future is overly optimistic and the mentions of the companies in the Virgin group get old, the stories of the pioneers of the aviation are fascinating. It's easy to forget the courage, ingenuity and foresight that has brought us modern miracles.
The sense of striving is infectious, and is a reminder that the human race is capable remarkable feats.

[Mayank Pandya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book takes us for a deep dive into aviation history. Stories about experiments even before the Wright Brothers are quite interesting. From ballooning to space travel, there is so much to know from this industry.
Sir Richard's personal experiences are also very exciting and inspiring.

[Hardeep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, sure he is a pompous ass, but this history of flight had some interesting characters / anecdotes that were new to me. Fairly good read.....

[Marc-Aurèle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livre vraiment excellent avec toutes les informations techniques et d'histoire qui accompagnent et expliquent ce qu'ont fait nos aventuriers du ciel! Un plaisir à lire!

[Husen Nazim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very historically informative and interesting. A wonderfully told story of flight and all the sacrifices made by people that loved it. Cheers to Richard Branson.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting aviation history mixed with personal stories of Branson's adventures. It was also interesting to read some of the background behind the new Virgin Galactic flights.

[Darshani Workman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic journey through aviation.

[Wendy Hollister]

rc'd by candi

[Gintarė Liūtaširdė · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of technical information. For me, it wasn't so important. I think it was the case when I bought the book cover. Although I enjoyed reading the crazy Ideas about taking over space. My imagination went wild :D Now I know that dreaming big is the first step to success .